Evil is good at this Disney event

Can simple makeup and costumery bring out the evil intentions in a person?

Looking back at a childhood where the worlds of "Sleeping Beauty" and "Snow White" were as natural to me as the one I actually lived in, I can't think of any time where I wanted to be the villain.

I grew up in an ultra-pro-Disney household. My father has worked at Disneyland for more than three decades, and is responsible for keeping Walt's original vision intact while ensuring the technology is current on rides like it's a small world and the Enchanted Tiki Room.

So needless to say, VHS copies of the films, television shows and cartoons abounded in our house — and I knew and loved them all.

But beyond loving the fabulous costumery and artifice of villains like Maleficent, the horned witch from "Sleeping Beauty," or gaping at the extravagently conspicuous consumption of Cruella de Vil of "101 Dalmations," I don't recall ever relating to the baddies like some of my friends did.

No one admitted to enjoying Gaston, of course, because we all wanted to be Belle from "Beauty and the Beast," but some villains — like the Evil Queen — were just too delicious, too skin-crawling, to ignore.

The Evil Queen, to me, was emblemized by the poisoned apple she offered to the wholesome Snow White: In her normal, non-old-witchy form, she was classically flawless, from the disdainful lowered eyelids to the somewhat pouty mouth. But underneath the artifice, her core was just as rotten.

So when given the chance by MAC Cosmetics and Disney to explore the dark side in a bit of frivolous fun this weekend, I had to accept.

South Coast Plaza was given the honor of holding the international launch of MAC and Disney's new collaboration, Venomous Villains, which is centered around four of Disney's most glamourous profligates: the Evil Queen, Cruella de Vil, Maleficent, and Dr. Facilier, the charismatic voodoo magician from a newer Disney film, "The Princess and the Frog."

"We love to bring the element of showmanship and the elements of fashion right to you," said Jen Karsten, global senior artist at MAC.

The weekend-long event area is bordered by four life-size dioramas, one for each of the Disney villains. Cruella de Vil stands surrounded by Dalmatians, natch; Maleficent stands with her orb-topped staff, as does Dr. Facilier; and on the other side, the Evil Queen gazes into her "mirror, mirror on the wall."